Of Death and Fear: Glimpses of Life
by Mask of Brutality
Summary: Just one shots of Merith and Pitch that weren't covered in the main story. I am open to requests of possible situations that people want to see. Mature scenes will probably be at Ao3 under the same pseudonym.
1. Chapter 1

Slipping seamlessly from the Netherworld into the mortal realm, Merith silently sulked as he leant against a nearby tree. It had been two weeks since his capture by the annoyance called the Boogeyman and their...agreement. After pushing himself away from the distraction of Pitch's lips, Merith made a demand. Just because they happened to be soulmates didn't mean he was going to hop straight into bed with the older spirit; there was too many false rumors between them and not enough actual knowledge about each other for any type of relationship to work out. Surprisingly, at least to Merith, despite his passionate speech and kiss, Pitch had agreed with no complaints, only a request to meet in the forest where they had first met in two weeks' time.

"Why, hello Merith. Did you steal the sun, my shadows have grown darker in the radiance of your presence." said Pitch as he slid out from the tree's shadows to an unimpressed Merith. He bowed deeply and from his robes offered a single rose to Merith. As Merith grabbed the rose, Pitch gently captured his hand and placed a gentle kiss over his ring laden fingers.

Smacking his hand away with a faint blush, Merith scowled down at the smirking Boogeyman.

"I'm not a girl Black. Don't treat me like one."

Pitch looked properly chastised as he grasped Merith's slender hands in his larger pale ones.

"My apologies Merith, I didn't mean to insult you with my behavior, but seeing your lovely blush at my actions," cue in Merith's reddening face, "I just couldn't help myself. It's been a long time since I've, been with someone." Pitch confessed softly.

Merith stared at Pitch in surprise, he didn't think Pitch could be this soft. But what did he really know about Pitch other than what he had heard from other spirits?

Smiling softly at the older spirit, Merith realized he was glad they were taking this chance to really learn about each other. "Thank you for understanding; I didn't mean to be so harsh, especially since you meant well, just, treat me normal, ok?"

Pitch stared long and hard at Merith before a small smirk grew on his face.

"I would like to ask a favor of you," continuing at Merith's questioning face. "I have this basket, full of food and drink, but I seemed to have packed too much for just one person. Would you eat with me, so it doesn't go to waste?"

Merith laughed in amusement as he nodded. _'It seems like the Boogeyman could be a smooth talker when he wants to be_.' thought Merith as Pitch guided him into the shadows only to reappear at the edge of a grassy meadow edged with colorful wildflowers. They settled the blanket used to cover the basket on a soft patch of grass and then Merith bemusedly watched as Pitch began unloading fancy dinnerware fit for royalty; followed by a large, fresh loaf of bread, seasoned lamb, beef, and chicken, freshly cooked vegetables, and finally various pastries like fruit tarts and mini pies as well as an assortment of fresh fruit.

At Merith's gaze, Pitch mumbled, almost defensively. "I didn't know what you'd like, so I got lots of things. Just in case."

Merith laughed, pleasantly surprised at the spread of food that the infamous Boogeyman had made just to impress him. At Pitch's insistence, he settled into a comfortable spot as he watched Pitch pile food onto a plate, occasionally looking at Merith for approval of what he placed on the plate. Merith thought it was so amusing seeing the Nightmare King being such a gentleman, trying to court him.

"Why are you trying so hard?" Merith blurted out as he accepted the full plate from the older man.

"Hmm?" Pitch hummed as he gave Merith his full attention.

Merith flushed slightly at his unplanned outburst but continued. "I mean, why are you doing this? Why did you change your mind about the bond?"

Pitch stared at him for a moment, face thoughtful as he nudged at the younger man to eat. Merith tried a couple of bites, but the food slid down his throat uncomfortably as he waited anxiously for the older man's response. _'Maybe I should have waited another day to be asking these types of questions, it's the first date and I've already screwed up, now the mood's been ruined, good job idiot-'_

A finger poked him in the forehead. Startled, green eyes flew up to meet pale gold eyes, eyes that held a spark of amusement within their depths.

"I can clearly see you overthinking, so let me speak and ease your mind." said Pitch with a smirk, causing Merith to flush again at how transparent he was being.

"Put simply, I find you attractive and interesting. If I can have the chance to spend the rest of my existence a little less lonely and hated, I am very willing, and even eager, to see if something can develop between us. Is that okay?"

"Um...yeah, yeah that's ok, perfect actually, thanks for being honest. Really…" Merith mumbled, slightly shocked. Back in his former life when he was just Harry Potter, no one was ever honest and open with him, always having a hidden agenda because of being the Boy-Who-Lived. Having someone state so bluntly that they wanted him for being himself; a flush of warmth spread throughout his body. Merith smiled brightly at Pitch and scooted closer to the older spirit to start eating, laughing softly at the shocked look on Pitch's face.

"Rule #1 when courting me, I love cuddling and being affectionate."

Pitch cautiously placed an arm over Merith's shoulder, a small smile grew on his face when Merith did nothing but scoot closer.

"Duly noted."

* * *

I know that Of Death and Fear isn't yet finished, but this has been the works to accompany since there are massive time gaps in the story. If you have a request that you'd like to see in these one shot collections, please let me know and I'll see if I can do it. To avoid causing trouble with FFN, all mature material will be in its full, unedited form on my Ao3 account under the same pseudonym. Thank you for your patience and love towards all my stories!


	2. Chapter 2

Merith hummed in pleasure as hands stroked through his long hair. A soft chuckle was heard above him, causing a soft pout to form on his face. Fluttering green eyes open, Merith stared up at the upside-down image of Kozmotis gazing down in fond amusement.

"What?" murmured Merith.

"Nothing at all Merith," Kozmotis said as he bent over to kiss Merith's forehead, causing another pleased hum. "But now I see how you and that panther of yours get along so well."

"I'll take that as a compliment. She is a joy to be around you know." said Merith as he began poking Kozmotis' midsection in mock offense. This pulled out a throaty laugh from Kozmotis as he caught the poking hands and pulled their mischievous owner further into his lap, watching Merith half-heartedly struggle for the sake of being difficult. Now practically on Kozmotis' lap, back to chest, Merith snuggled into the other spirit's chest, ready to resume his dozing.

"Actually, I'd have to take your word for it." At Merith's sidelong glance, Kozmotis elaborated. "I've never met your panther helper or the other two familiars you've mentioned before."

"What? No, you've met them before." Now fully awake and puzzled, Merith tried to think back on when his boyfriend had met Myst and his familiars- but found himself falling short on a time they would've met. As Myst was a creature of the Nether Realm, she needed his permission every time she wanted to cross over, so it wasn't something they often did. And despite being created to be either resting on his arms as tattoos or their corporeal forms, Merith often chose the latter because Soreth and Talath liked the independence. So Kozmotis hadn't even seen them detailed on his arms by the time they started dating.

"Shit, I'm sorry Koz. I thought you had already been introduced, well, no time's better than the present, let's go!" Giving a quick apologetic kiss to the older spirit, Merith rolled off the bed, straightening any wrinkles gathered from the hour-long snuggle session the two were having within Kozmotis' lair. It was still a relatively new part of their relationship, but they both seemed to enjoy it.

"But-wha-cuddle time?"

"We can finish it later; all of my important people need to meet up so they can get along...what? Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Merith, eyeing the look on Kozmotis' face with slight suspicion as the older spirit got off the bed.

"I like knowing that I'm one of the important people in your life." drawled Kozmotis with a small smirk towards his flustered boyfriend.

"Shaddup and take my hand, you big sap." muttered Merith.

Still smirking, Kozmotis and Merith entwined hands and with a hard jerk to the left and then forward through blurry surroundings, Kozmotis found himself in the Nether Realms for the first time ever.

Everything around him seemed dull, the monochromatic shades of white, black, and gray made Kozmotis suddenly long for color. There were shadows all over the lands, but any curious attempts to use them were useless.

Where Merith had brought them seemed to be heavily forested, excluding the path that they were on and, looking in both directions, seemed to go on forever.

"The Nether Realms doesn't really mimic the mortal realm except for vague geographic vegetation. I take souls on the roads like this one because it helps me to get to a nearby Gate quicker as well as seeing potential dangers pretty early." explained Merith as he began leading his boyfriend down the pathway.

"How fascinating love. But is this safe? You've mentioned before that there's many dangerous creatures that prey on souls." inquired Kozmotis.

"It can be a bit dangerous, but I know what I'm doing Kozzie. I have my three familiars, my magically formed shades, as well as my own reserve of magic to protect me. Besides," Merith said as they finally reached a bend in the road. "I've placed warded areas all over these paths as little rest stops." Out of seemingly nowhere, a campsite flickered into sight and a snap of Merith's fingers made the campfire blaze with a merry crackle of light and warmth. Throwing Kozmotis a cheeky smile, Merith sat close to the fire and began humming softly, the feeling of Kozmotis settling behind him and engulfing him in long arms not distracting him.

Kozmotis hooked his chin over Merith's shoulder, gently playing with Merith's fingers, absentmindedly admiring the differences in their hands and how well they fit together.

"Here they come."

Kozmotis looked up to see two small dots that gradually grew closer until the shape of two miniature dragons finally landed in Merith's warded zone.

"Koz, meet Soreth," the green dragon puffed a plume of smoke in their general direction, "and Talath." The reddish-brown) dragon merely huffed and made his way towards the couple to sniff at Kozmotis' robes curiously before making eye contact with the shadow spirit. After a long, tense moment of staring the spirit down, Talath huffed again and curled next to Kozmotis like a large scaly cat and promptly began napping.

Merith laughed at the confused expression on Kozmotis' face. "He tends to do that, but if he's napping next to you, that means he likes you. You should worry more about Soreth if you're looking for approval."

They looked over at Soreth, who indeed was still huffing and puffing smoke, eyes narrowed pointedly at Kozmotis as she prowled back and forth.

"Soreth! Stop your posturing and come over here!"

Soreth grumbled and whined as a small flicker of fire erupted from her snout.

"Watch your tone missy! Now come over here before I drag you over here!"

She grumbled as she inched over to them, smoke trailing from her mouth until she stopped a foot away from them. Tapping Koz to loosen his hold, Merith, stuck quickly and grabbed the struggling dragon until she was wrestled onto his lap, wings pinned down until she gave up in exhaustion and plopped fully over his legs. With years of expertise, Merith's nimble fingers found Soreth's favorite scratching spots and worked the scaly skin until a rumbly purr began emanating from deep within her. Making eye contact with Kozmotis behind him and tilting his head down, Kozmotis cautiously replaced his boyfriend's fingers; he listened to the brief pause in humming and smiled softly as Soreth opened one content eye to stare at him before closing it, head nudging firmly into his hand.

Merith relaxed against Kozmotis' chest with a relaxed sigh. "Now you've met all of my important people and they've met you."

"I'm glad to learn more about your family." said Kozmotis as he curled around Merith for his long-awaited snuggles.

"I'm glad you are part of my family." replied Merith as he wiggled around until he was touching each member of his family. He knew as he closed his eyes to take a nap that Myst would probably come bounding in to join the snuggle-pile when she finally found them, but until then, he was taking a nap.


End file.
